An Arabian Ecstasy – Treat of Middle East at Ignite Bar and Grill — Reviewed!

Ignite-Bar and Grill is synonymous to excellent ambience and great food. I still cherish my first visit where I got to try some lovely signatures and I was so mesmerised with the experience. How can I forget the Asian Grills festival where some uncommon asian grills from south east asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia were served to this. This time Ignite, Courtyard by Marriott, Hinjawadi has come up with much more interesting ten day food festival starting from 30th January – Arabian Ecstasy. Wherein patrons can enjoy flavorful ride through the Middle East and savour some succulent platters and hand-picked kebabs from Lebanon, Iran and Egypt. The whole menu is crafted by the Masterchef of the Arabic cuisine Chef K.K Gopalkrishnan.

As soon as you enter the Ignite- Bar and Grill, you will get a feel of the middle east. Be it attire of the servers or the music in the background, the whole ambience is inspired by the theme of Arab countries. Along with the delicious food, people can relish on some of the best drinks! The menu includes..
Kebabs, Mezze, Falafel, Kooideh, Stews, Baklava, Puddings to be precise. 

We started our evening with the Soup-e-jo. This persian delicacy is a classic barley soup with the goodness of veg broth, barley, veggies. Loved it. Non-vegetarians can enjoy the chicken soup.

Feast continued from Soup to Appetizer. We were served a nice plate of Falafel. It is my all time favourite appetizer. So, Falafel is a crisp patty of mashed chickpeas and parsley, garnished with sesame seeds and served with tahini sauce. The plate of Falfel had pickled veggies, salads, falafel and tahini sauce. The crispy, light falafel was the hero!

Ignite is always famous for their platters. So, how can they miss in this food festival. The Mezze platter was next and trust it was as delicious and authentic as it looks. It had beautifully arranged Pita breads along with Muhmarra, Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Burani spinach, Fattush Salad and Iranian Salad. My favourite being Muhmarra and Baba ganoush. The slight tangy and spicy flavour was pairing well with the soft and fresh pita.

Persian Seekh Kebabs were next on the plate. Exactly not seekh kebabs but paneer tikka. Cottage Cheese, bell peppers, tomatoes were marinated for a long time in aromatic arabian spices and grilled to perfection. It was mildly spiced as the persian food is supposed to be. Paneer was succulent and had very good distinctive taste.

Main course had Baghali Pulao with Veg salona. Baghali Pulao were long aromatic rice prepared with Iranian Dill with an added flavour of saffron. A boranian recipe adapted from Iran uses fresh tender fava beans. The rice was paired with the Veg Salona, a sort of stew with all veggies slow cooked in arabic style. Again the spices were on the milder side though flavours were intact.

Desserts are the most special part of any meal. Arabian desserts are no exception. We had a dessert platter which had Baklaava, Om Ali and Dates icecream. Om Ali is the traditional Egyptian dessert made with pastry, cream, nuts and fruits. It has the creaminess of bread pudding and goodness of baking. It was rich. One hearty, heavy bowl! 

Baklava is a very common arabic dessert. Filo pastries filled with dry fruits, especially pistachios and sweetened with sugar syrup. One bite of it is enough to fill your tummy. To balance the palate chef served us some dates ice-cream which was a deadly combination with Baklava. Totally loved it!

A wonderful evening came to an end with loads of chat, scrumptious food and vibrant ambience.

What: Arabian Ecstasy
Where: Ignite Bar and Grill, Courtyard by Marriott, Hinjawadi
When: 30th January 2017 to 9th February 2017
Cost: A La Carte
Ignite - Courtyard By Marriott Pune Hinjawadi Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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